NHInsider.com was told, after going back and forth a few times that it is against the law to use the image of the State Seal on our webpage. When we objected the State Attorney General issued a cease and desist order or something to the effect that they were going to prosceute us for using the seal. We took it off our front page.

Now congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter has a website

http://www.sheaporter.com/

This website is affiliated with Rep Shea-Porter's campaign for another term in the US house of Representatives. That has no real connection to the State of NH business yet she has the State Seal adoring her front page.

Will she be threatened with legal action or will she be allowed to keep it up on her website?

Work Hard Have Fun

Bob DeMaura

NHInsider.com Owner/Operator

Castro Backer Raitt to Sing for Shaheen

Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen will bring celebritihood to Concord when she hosts Emmy Award winning singer Bonnie Raitt for a fundraiser at the Capitol Center for the Arts on August 12th. There’s only one problem: Bonnie Raitt’s previous dalliances in politics have tended to be of the radical, sometimes anti-American, variety.

For example, Shaheen isn’t the first politician Raitt will have sung to. In 1999 she traveled to Havana and sang for Stalinist dictator Fidel Castro at the Karl Marx Theater. She even composed a song in Castro’s honor titled, “Cuba Is Way Too Cool!”

The next year Raitt joined other celebrities in signing an advertisement in the New York Times that claimed United States policy was responsible for “killing … over one million Iraqis, mostly children under five.”

Raitt’s comments on Iraq appear to condemn Shaheen’s own past policy positions. Shaheen supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, though she now supports a troop withdrawal plan.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee believes Gov. Shaheen’s and Raitt’s views are compatible, however. Spokesman John Randall said, “Raitt’s concert is not a surprise considering she and Shaheen share an affinity for oppressive, extremist national leaders - Raitt with her concert for Fidel Castro in Havana and Shaheen inviting Mohammed Khatami, the former President of Iran, to speak at Harvard.”

The Shaheen campaign did not have an immediate comment.

http://www.nowhampshire.com/content/castro-backer-raitt-sing-shaheen

NHInsider received the following email:

Thought you might enjoy this.

http://www.whatsbobupto.blogspot.com/

He's running for something, can you guess what it is from the website above?

This week in 'Press Releases' from candidates we learned that Gov. Huckabee (R-AR) and Gov Richardson (D-NM) will be getting interviewed at the FPU Marlin Fitzwater center.

Is FPU the new 'Go To' place for politicians?

Is it the new 'Go To' place for NH Politics?

Is there a void that needs filling as St. A's Institute for Politics undergoes major changes and cutbacks.?

Will they become as prominent as St. A's has been in the recent past?

Stay Tuned!

The following information was sent to nhinsider anonymously. We have not at this time verified the numbers or the polling source. We will continue to look for verification.

Insider Advantage released their latest statewide surveys in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina and Florida tonight. The polls were fielded from October 2-3.

Iowa

The Iowa survey sampled 1,339 likely Republican caucus-goers and has a MoE of +/- 2.7%.

Gov. Romney leads with 24% while 16% support Giuliani. Thompson and Huckabee are in a dead heat with 13% each and 10% support McCain. 11% support another candidate while 13% are undecided.

*This is Insider Advantage’s first Iowa poll of the cycle so no trendline data is available.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire survey sampled 1,082 likely Republican primary voters with a MoE of +/- 3%.

Gov. Romney leads with 28%, while Giuliani and McCain are statistically tied with 20% and 17% respectively. Thompson and Huckabee are in a dead heat with 8% each while 9% support another candidate and 10% are undecided.

*This is Insider Advantage’s first New Hampshire poll this cycle, so no trendline data is available.

Michigan

The Michigan poll sampled 1,190 likely Republican primary voters and has a MoE of +/- 2.9%.

The poll finds a statistical 4 way tie for the lead with Giuliani at 19%, Gov. Romney at 16%, McCain at 15% and Thompson at 14%. 15% support another candidate and 21% are undecided.

*This is Insider Advantage’s first Michigan poll of the cycle, so no trendline data is available.

South Carolina

The South Carolina survey sampled 1,281 likely Republican primary voters with a MoE of +/- 2.8%.

16% support Gov. Romney, which is an increase of 8 points from 8% in May.

Thompson leads with 21%, an increase of 8 points from 13% in May, while 16% support Giuliani, practically unchanged from 18% over the same time period. 16% support McCain, statistically unchanged from 17% in May, while 18% support another candidate and 13% are undecided.

Florida

The Florida survey sampled 725 likely Republican primary voters and has a MoE of +/- 3.7%.

16% support Gov. Romney, which is an increase of 4 points from 12% on September 17^th.

Giuliani continues to lead with 29%, which is an increase of 5 points from 24% on September 17^th. 19% support Thompson, a decrease of 4 points from September 17^th, while 10% support McCain, which is statistically unchanged from 11% over the same time period. 11% support another candidate and 15% are undecided.

We have heard that the rating for the recent NH GOP Debate was a 2.6 with as many as 3.1 million viewers!

The St. Anselm debate in June had a 1.3 rating.

Wonder what the rating for the Tonight show was? Could it be that the Thompson campaing made a major faux pas by skipping the debate. They presumed that the tonight show would have more viewers, but they may have miscalculated.

Rumors abound that Fred Thompson the TV actor will be running a commercial about his campaign for the GOP Nomination during the GOP debate that he isn't attending or participating in. He is going to be on Jay Leno immediately following the debate to officially kick off his campaign.

Much has been made of a growing rift within the NH Republican Party, but it appears despite whatever challenges the party faces it has made growth in attracting new supporters, donors and credibility. Even State Party critics such as Republican Representative Fran Wendelboe have applauded their efforts as of late, she wrote in todays Concord Monitor:

"The outstanding success of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee dinner last week demonstrated that the party is alive and well and united in the common cause to put the governance of New Hampshire back in the hand of Republicans in the 2008 election."

"Kudos to Chairman Fergus Cullen and his staff for an almost flawless event attended by over 600 Republicans- one of the largest in recent years."

According to the most recent Gallup poll both Congress and the President see low levels of public support:

According to the May 10-13, 2007, Gallup Poll, 29% of Americans approve and 64% disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. Congressional approval is down 4 percentage points since last month, and is 3 points lower than the 32% average measured during the first five months of the year.

Interestingly:

Even though Democrats now control both houses of Congress, the poll shows that only 37% of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing right now. These marks are, however, significantly better than those given to Congress by independents (24%) and Republicans (25%). Democrats have been more likely than Republicans to approve of Congress this year, whereas Republicans expressed a higher level of approval prior to the change of power experienced after the midterm congressional elections in November 2006.

 In regards to the President's job approval rating:

There has been little meaningful change in the public's rating of the president in quite some time. Thirty-three percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, while 62% disapprove. Bush's approval ratings have averaged 35% in 2007, and have fallen within a narrow range between 32% and 38%. Bush's ratings were slightly higher last year, averaging 38%.

With Congress at or below the average approval of the last Congress it should present an interesting scenario for New Hampshire's two newest federal officials.  

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson posted this video response to filmmaker Michael Moore.